35 killed in Haj stampede

JAMARAT, (Saudi Arabia), MARCH 5. Thirty-five Muslim pilgrims were killed in a stampede at the annual Haj in Saudi Arabia today. A civil defence official said 23 women and 12 men of various nationalities had been crushed to death in the stampede during the devil-stoning ritual at Jamarat bridge, near Macca.

``Because of heavy congestion and jostling between pilgrims, many, especially the elderly, tripped and fell, leading to the deaths of 35 pilgrims of different nationalities,'' a civil defence officer, said.

``Some of them suffocated to death while others were trampled, before security forces restored order,'' he said, adding that the latest tragedy to hit the annual gathering of the Muslim faithful occurred at around 8.00 a.m. (1030 IST).

About 1.2 lakh Indians are performing this year's Haj and there was no immediate report of any casualty among them.

King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah, in a message carried by the official Saudi news agency SPA before news of the tragedy emerged, congratulated the pilgrims and wished travellers from abroad a safe return to their countries.

As part of measures to avoid a crush, elderly pilgrims had a head start on Sunday night on the ``stoning of satan'' ritual. The site at Mina in present-day western Saudi Arabia is where Abraham, his wife Hagar and their son Ismail are said to have thrown seven stones each at the devil when he appeared before them.

Indian dies in Haj stampede

At least one Indian woman, identified as Jamila B. Sheikh, was among the 35 Haj pilgrims killed in a stampede today during the devil-stoning ritual at Jamarat al-Aqaba near the holy city of Mecca, Indian officials said.

The Consul-General of India in Jeddah, Syed Akbaruddin, told UNI that he had been informed by Saudi authorities about the death of the 55-year-old woman, who hailed from Jalgaon in Maharashtra. She had come alone for the pilgrimage and her husband's name was Mr. Jan Mohammed.

Saudi media said 23 women and 12 men of various nationalities were killed as a huge crowd rushed towards one of the three giant pillars representing the devil in the Mina Valley, near the birthplace of Prophet Mohammed in mecca. An unspecified number of pilgrims were injured in the stampede on the first day of the three-day ritual.

- Reuters, UNI, PTI

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Front Page
Previous : Lashkar fidayeen kills 2 soldiers
Next     : Akash serial test put off